Abdelbaset al-Megrahi

Lord Strathclyde: My right honourable friend the Prime Minister has made the following Statement.
	On 20 July 2010, I asked the Cabinet Secretary to conduct a review of government papers relating to the release of the Lockerbie bomber. The purpose of this review was to ensure that all paperwork that could be published was published in order to address as fully as possible the continued concerns that were being expressed over this release, including from victims' families.
	The Cabinet Secretary has completed that review. I have placed his report and the further papers that are being released in the Libraries of both Houses.
	The review assessed all material across government. The Cabinet Secretary was assisted in this task by the former Information Commissioner and current chairman of the Administrative Justice and Tribunals Council, Richard Thomas. He has provided independent validation of this process and confirms the report and the documents now being published are consistent with all the materials he has reviewed and provide a fair and accurate account of events.
	Under the convention covering papers of a previous Administration, the Cabinet Secretary consulted former Ministers and the former Prime Minister about publication of additional papers.
	All decisions on the declassification and publication of papers belonging to the previous Administration were taken by the Cabinet Secretary. He is clear that any information not published does not alter or contradict his report in any way.

Barlow Clowes International

Lord Sassoon: My honourable friend the Financial Secretary to the Treasury (Mark Hoban) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	The Barlow Clowes group of companies collapsed in 1988, following the misappropriation of investors' funds, which had been routed through approximately 50 related companies and entities in 16 jurisdictions. In the same year the Le Quesne report was published on regulatory functions in this matter. In 1989, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration published the report The Barlow Clowes Affair, which criticised the Department of Trade and Industry for maladministration in the handling of Barlow Clowes.
	The Government disputed the main findings in the report but made a decision to make substantial ex-gratia payments to Barlow Clowes investors. This was based on an exceptional combination of circumstances and was not to be regarded as a precedent. At the same time the Government gave a clear assurance to Parliament to try to recover the cost of the ex-gratia payments. The Government subsequently paid £153 million in ex-gratia payments to 14,250 investors who suffered a loss as a result of the collapse of the Barlow Clowes group.
	Since 1988, successive Governments have followed a policy of vigorously pursuing all claims in relation to the Barlow Clowes companies which showed any prospect of cost-effective recovery, in order to reduce the cost to the taxpayer of the ex-gratia payments scheme.
	The court-appointed receivers and liquidators to the Barlow Clowes companies have now concluded the last outstanding litigation in this case and will take no further action.
	On 9 December 2010 the Supreme Court of Gibraltar granted the release of the receivers and liquidators of the various offshore portfolios previously promoted by Barlow Clowes International Limited, with effect from 6 January 2011. This brings to an end the Barlow Clowes affair.
	As at 19 January 2011, from the recovery of assets and proceeds of legal action, the Government have recovered £120 million and £36 million was recovered and paid to investors. In total the investors, including the Government under their assigned rights, have been repaid £156.5 million, net of all costs.

Correction to Commons Debate

Baroness Wilcox: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Vince Cable) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	During this week's Opposition Day debate, on the work of my department, I said that private sector business investment is 3.73 per cent up on last year's performance. In fact investment, according to the latest figure increased by 3.1 per cent over the previous quarter.

Crime: Anti-social Behaviour

Baroness Neville-Jones: My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Crime Prevention (James Brokenshire) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	Today I am launching More Effective Responses to Anti-social Behaviour, which sets out the key findings of the Home Office's review of the current tools and powers to deal with anti-social behaviour, as well as proposals to simplify and improve them.
	Reducing the everyday crime and disorder that is described as anti-social behaviour-from vandalism and graffiti to drug dealing and harassment-is a high priority for the public, and for the Government. It is corrosive, blights communities and neighbourhoods and has a huge impact on the quality of life of millions of people. The unprecedented response by the public to the launch of street-level crime information earlier this month illustrates just how concerned they are about the issue.
	Our aim is to ensure that where a community or victim is suffering anti-social behaviour-particularly the sort of targeted, persistent harassment apparent in a number of high-profile recent cases-the police and other local agencies take the problem seriously, take the necessary steps to stop it permanently, and protect vulnerable victims.
	Our reforms to local crime and policing will take us some way towards meeting that objective. The introduction of elected police and crime commissioners, street-level crime information and regular neighbourhood beat meetings will make police forces more accountable for the way they deal with the issues that matter to local people. Helen Newlove is highlighting ways the public can get involved in making their communities safer. And we announced earlier in January that eight police forces are, with local partners, trialling a new approach to handling calls from the public that will ensure repeat and vulnerable victims of anti-social behaviour get a better service.
	However, the police and other professionals also need an effective toolkit to deal with anti-social behaviour; one that is quick, practical, easy to use and provides a real deterrent to perpetrators.
	Our review of the current tools and powers found that there are too many of them, with practitioners tending to focus on the measures they are most familiar with. And the bureaucracy and cost associated with some of the court orders (especially the anti-social behaviour order) may encourage some practitioners to use informal or voluntary tools to deal with serious incidents instead. At the same time, the growing number of people who breach their ASBO suggests the potentially serious consequences are still not deterring a persistent minority from continued anti-social behaviour. Finally, the tools that were designed to help perpetrators deal with the underlying causes of their anti-social behaviour are rarely used.
	In response we propose a radical streamlining. Instead of providing a specific tool to deal with every problem, we aim to introduce a handful of faster, more flexible and more effective tools that allow practitioners to protect victims and communities and get to the root of the problem. Specifically, we propose to:
	repeal the ASBO and other court orders for anti-social individuals, and replace them with two new orders that bring together restrictions on future behaviour and support to address underlying problems-a criminal behaviour order that can be attached to a criminal conviction, and a crime prevention injunction that can quickly stop anti-social behaviour before it escalates; ensure there are powerful incentives on perpetrators to stop behaving anti-socially-for example, by making breach of the new orders grounds for eviction from social housing; bring together many of the existing tools for dealing with place-specific anti-social behaviour, from persistent litter or noisy neighbours, to street drinking and crack houses, into a community protection order; bring together existing police dispersal powers into a single police power to direct people away from an area for anti-social behaviour; make the informal and out-of-court tools for dealing with anti-social behaviour more rehabilitative and restorative; and introduce a community trigger that gives victims and communities the right to require agencies to deal with persistent anti-social behaviour.
	Copies of the consultation document will be placed in the House Library. The consultation, which runs until 3 May, is open to everyone to have their say and details can be found on the Home Office website at www.homeoffice.gov.uk/asb-consultation.

Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Lord Marland: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change (Chris Huhne) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
	I am today announcing the start of the first review of the feed-in tariffs (FITs) scheme for small-scale low-carbon electricity generation.
	Decentralised renewables are vital to green growth and the FITs scheme has proved highly successful at stimulating growth, driving innovation, creating jobs and cutting carbon.
	Since the scheme began last year more than 21,000 installations have registered to date. The vast majority of these are domestic installations, including solar panels, wind turbines and micro hydro installations. The scheme is working well. The take-up of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels under FITs has been a success with 20,000 installations now registered. However, there is room for improvement. I am concerned about the impact of super-size solar installations. I am also disappointed at the lack of farm-based anaerobic digestion plants currently accessing FITs.
	In light of the economic and fiscal situation, inherited by the coalition, it is imperative that we take a more responsible and efficient approach to public subsidy, including where this subsidy is funded through energy bills. Specifically the spending review committed to improving the efficiency of FITs and finding £40 million of savings, around 10 per cent, in 2014-15.
	Since the spending review, I have become increasingly concerned about the prospect of large-scale solar PV projects under FITs, which was not fully anticipated in the original scheme and could, if left unchecked, take a disproportionate amount of available funding or even break the cap on total funding. Several large solar installations have already received planning permission. Industry projections indicate there could be many more in the planning system. In light of this uncertainty and the risk that such schemes could push FITs uptake off trajectory and may make the spending review savings difficult, I have decided to end the potential for damaging speculation and bring forward the review of the scheme to look at ways of correcting these early teething problems.
	I recognise that industry needs a long-term plan for investment in which it can have full confidence. Today I am announcing a comprehensive evidence based review in to the FITs scheme and, to provide further certainty to the renewables industry, I can confirm that we also hope to publish next month measures to support renewable heat within the envelope agreed at the spending review.
	The FITs review will:
	assess all aspects of the scheme including tariff levels, administration and eligibility of technologies;be completed by the end of the year, with tariffs remaining unchanged until April 2012 (unless the review reveals a need for greater urgency);fast-track consideration of large scale solar projects (over 50kW) with a view to making any resulting changes to tariffs as soon as practical, subject to consultation and parliamentary scrutiny as required by the Energy Act 2008.
	Alongside the fast-track review of large-scale solar PV, we will also undertake a short study into the take-up of FITs for farm-based anaerobic digestion plants. Only two such projects have been accredited so far and by this point at least six were expected. We are looking again at the tariff rates inherited from the previous Administration to see if they are enough to make farm-based anaerobic digestion worth while.
	Broad terms of reference for the review are available from www.decc.gov.uk/FITS and we are seeking views on specific issues to be considered. The Government will not act retrospectively and any changes to generation tariffs implemented as a result of the review will only affect new entrants into the FITs scheme. Installations which are already accredited for FITs at the time will not be affected.

Energy: Plutonium Stocks

Lord Marland: My honourable friend the Minister of State for Energy has made the following Statement.
	The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) will publish on 7 February a consultation on the long-term management of UK-owned separated civil plutonium.
	Currently the UK's plutonium is stored in facilities designed to meet high standards of safety and security, however there is a need to consider how it should be managed in the long term. This consultation sets out for public scrutiny Government's preliminary view on the long-term management of the UK's plutonium. In particular the consultation covers the security and proliferation sensitivities associated with continued storage of plutonium, and also how we can best manage it in the interests of future generations.
	Copies of the consultation have been placed in Libraries of the House or can be obtained from the DECC website at http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/open/open.aspx.

Local Better Regulation Office

Baroness Wilcox: My right honourable friend the Minister of State for Business and Enterprise (Mark Prisk) has today made the following Statement.
	I am today announcing that, following a review of the Local Better Regulation Office (LBRO) and its functions, a number of changes are proposed to the way in which the functions it performs are carried out.
	It is proposed that the LBRO in its current form should be abolished, but that its most important functions will be transferred to the Department for Business Innovation and Skills. These will be performed by a new organisation within the department, drawing on the expertise of LBRO's staff and work to date.
	Its functions in directly promoting service improvement in local authority regulatory services will not be continued.
	The proposals mean the primary authority scheme and work to simplify the regulatory system, providing real benefits for businesses will continue, but will now be overseen by a new streamlined organisation that will form a part of the department.
	Local enterprise partnerships are already bringing business and civic leaders together across natural economic area to set a strong local economic lead. Good local regulatory services can play an important role in securing growth, giving businesses the confidence and expert advice that they need to grow, and regulatory improvement needs to be at the heart of these local strategies.
	The new organisation will play an active part in supporting partnerships: helping them set a clear lead in tackling red tape, disseminating and promoting good, business-friendly, practice of all kinds, including the primary authority scheme.
	The new organisation will have special governance arrangements which mean it will retain the operational independence and technical expertise that have been important to LBRO's role, ensuring that it is still relevant to businesses and regulators. The new organisation will focus on ensuring that there is better enforcement of regulations and will work closely with the Better Regulation Executive and Regulatory Policy Committee to reduce the burdens on business in the most cost-effective way.
	The change forms part of a wider transformation in the system of regulatory enforcement. The Government are committed to transforming the way in which regulation is enforced-making sure that the actions of regulators support business growth and other worthwhile social activities.
	The proposals outlined today will be subject to parliamentary approval and there will be consultation on these plans in spring 2011.

Ministers' Interests

Lord Strathclyde: My right honourable friend the Prime Minister has made the following Statement.
	In line with the commitment in the Ministerial Code, I have today published a list of Ministers' interests. Copies of the list have been placed in the Libraries of the House.

Transport: Local Schemes

Earl Attlee: My right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Transport (Philip Hammond) has made the following Ministerial Statement.
	On 26 October, following the announcement of the conclusions of the spending review, I made a Statement to the House outlining our plans for investing over £1.5 billion over the next four years on major capital transport schemes promoted by local authorities. I also set out a process for deciding which schemes would receive funding and published details in a document entitled Investment in Local Major Transport Schemes. I am today announcing the first set of decisions in line with the process as set out.
	First, we announced in October a pool of 10 local authority schemes with very high value for money or large local contributions that we wished to support. However we challenged the local authority promoters to reduce the cost to the Exchequer and to submit revised funding bids.
	I am pleased to say that through this process we have saved £45.5 million on these schemes-14 per cent of the previously approved sums and I am pleased to confirm funding for the following schemes.
	Leeds station southern access-improving pedestrian access to Leeds station (£12.4 million DfT contribution towards a total cost of £14.4 million);Midland Metro extension-extending Midland Metro tram line through Birmingham city centre (£75.4 million DfT contribution towards a total cost of £129.2 million);Mansfield public transport interchange-a new bus station and associated transport improvements in Mansfield (£7.2 million DfT contribution towards a total cost of £8.9 million);Thornton to Switch Island link-a new single carriageway road which will take traffic away from communities in Sefton (£14.5 million DfT contribution towards a total cost of £18.6 million);Ipswich fit for the 21st century-an integrated package of sustainable transport improvements in Ipswich (£18.3 million DfT contribution towards a total cost of £21.5 million); East of Exeter-improvements to M5 J29, east of Exeter, providing access to new housing and employment areas (£10.4 million DfT contribution towards a total cost of £14.4 million);Heysham to M6 link road-a bypass to the north of Lancaster, connecting Heysham to the M6 (£110.9 million DfT contribution towards a total cost of £123.3 million);A57 M1 to Todwick crossroads-improvements on the A57 east of M1 J31, near Todwick (£11.8 million DfT contribution towards a total cost of £14.7 million); andTaunton northern inner distributor road-a new road in Taunton to provide additional cross town capacity and access to areas of brownfield land (£15.2 million DfT contribution towards a total cost of £21.7 million).
	These schemes will now be able to progress towards construction subject to securing any remaining necessary planning and statutory approvals and subject to confirmation of value for money where material changes have been proposed.
	For the remaining scheme in the supported pool, the Mersey Gateway Bridge, we are carefully considering a funding proposal from the promoters, Halton Borough Council. As this is the largest scheme with the most complex funding proposal of any scheme in the supported pool, we are not able to announce final funding arrangements at this point, but will do so as soon as possible.
	I also announced in October a development pool of 22 schemes on which funding decisions would be made by the end of 2011, and a pre-qualification pool of 34 schemes on which we would make an earlier decision on which should join the development pool.
	I can today announce the promotion to the development pool of 23 schemes from the pre-qualification pool, making an expanded development pool of 45 schemes, based on their potential to offer value for money, their ability and willingness to offer savings to the DfT and, in the case of five structural maintenance schemes, the potential importance of the work to the integrity of the existing road network. The local authority promoters of these 23 schemes have indicated a potential to reduce the call on DfT funds that would amount to an overall saving of 42 per cent on the total of the previously requested sums. I am encouraged by this and I look forward to working with the promoters of these and the existing development pool schemes to try to achieve further savings when the promoters of all schemes in the pool submit their best and final funding bids by September 2011.
	As we set out in October, we do not expect that all schemes in the development pool will be funded. We will scrutinise the business case for each scheme very carefully and challenge promoters to demonstrate high value for money as well as significant savings on cost. We will also look at a range of other criteria, including deliverability and strategic fit, and will seek the views of interested parties including, where appropriate, local enterprise partnerships. The process remains competitive and those schemes that do not reach an acceptable standard will not be funded.
	In respect of the schemes from the pre-qualification pool not selected for the development pool, promoters will need to consider their options. Beyond this spending review period my intention remains that we should move to a more devolved funding framework for major schemes with local enterprise partnerships and others. I will develop this framework further during 2011.
	It may be that for some of these schemes there remains a reasonable prospect of funding through this route or with alternative funding sources. But there also needs to be realism. I would urge promoters of the non-selected schemes to consider, in consultation with the business community and local residents, whether further investment in the development of these schemes would be in the best interests of local council tax payers.
	This Government are committed to transparency in decision-making. I have placed on the DfT website a written document, as an update to Investment in Local Major Transport Schemes, which sets out the details of these scheme approval decisions and explains the rationale on which they have been based. The document also includes the benefit to cost ratios and net present values, as estimated in the spending review, of supported pool and original development pool schemes. I will also place on the DfT website the best and final funding bids and expressions of interest that have been submitted by the local authority promoters.